KARELIA

With French outfit Karelia's fourth studio album, 'Golden Decadence', already released in their home country back in 2011, it seems the UK and the rest of Europe is playing catch-up. Evidently timed to coincide with the band's special guest slot on Michael Schenker's spring tour, peeps will have the chance to check out Karelia both recorded and live. But are they worth checking out I hear you ask? Indeed they most certainly are based on 'Golden Decadence'. Borrowing from various rock and metal subgenres, as well as electro/industrial infusions and keyboards, the overall effect is occasionally reminiscent of Karelia's fellow countrymen One-Way Mirror. However, Karelia's sonic palette draws from a wider array of stylistic influences than said band. And one of the album's key strengths is in the fusion of the Frenchmen's adopted stylistic diversity - the various rock and metal subgenres (that you'll be able to detect with a keen ear) are neatly blended rather than adhering to any one. Another strength of the album is in the actual songwriting itself. Rather than mixing up multifarious styles for the sake of diversity, Karelia have done so within the context of some adeptly composed tunes whose essence is driven by a melodically exhilarative impetus. Anthemic is probably a misleading term to use but there are enough memorable hooks and sing-along choruses that'll prime some of the tunes for guaranteed success in a live context. The actual sound is crisp, clear and resonant - Renaud Hebinger is credited with producing, recording and mastering alongside the band's frontman, Matt Kleiber (no mixing credit is given so presumably the two men are responsible for the finely balanced mix too?). And Kleiber's clean vocals are emotionally charged with his nice tonality and powerful delivery, adding another level of affective expression over the richly layered music; the overall effect is a rather absorbing one. A few death growls courtesy of Sam Clauss accentuate the heaviness here and there (notably on 'War Party'), and Scorpions' Rudolph Schenker lends his fretboard skills to two tracks by performing solos and additional guitars on 'Keep Watch on Me' and 'The Way Across the Hills'. The release is topped off with two acoustic versions of older Karelia songs, showcasing a mellower, stripped-down dimension to the band and thus a nice inclusion to close the album. Karelia are not as groundbreaking as they'd like you to think they are although 'Golden Decadence' is still a fairly fresh sounding album and definitely worth a bash.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Rocksector Records

Album

GOLDEN DECADENCE

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

42:47

RELEASE DATE:

15th April 2013

TRACK LISTING

1) Bill for the Ride
2) War Party
3) Animals
4) Vanity Label
5) Housekeeper
6) Keep Watch on Me
7) The Way Across the Hills
8) Ride it Wild
9) Body's Falling Apart
10) Out for a Walk
11) Child Has Gone; 12) Unbreakable Cordon

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

France

"Rather than mixing up multifarious styles for the sake of diversity, Karelia have done so within the context of some adeptly composed tunes whose essence is driven by a melodically exhilarative impetus."